Cynthia Erivo addresses speculation that she and Ariana Grande ‘were lovers’

Cynthia Erivo knows what you’re saying about her relationship with Ariana Grande.

The Harriet actress recently reflected on her hyper-scrutinized friendship with her Wicked costar, which led to widespread speculation that they are a couple.

“At first, I think people didn’t understand how it was possible for two women to be friends — close — and not lovers,” Erivo told the U.K. outlet Stylist, noting that observers assumed the relationship was either performative or more than platonic. “I’ve never really spoken about this, but there was this strange fascination with the two of us, where people either thought we were putting it on for the cameras or that we were lovers.”

The Bad Times at the El Royale actress hypothesized that the relationship confused onlookers because emotional intimacy between women is underdiscussed in the media. “I think it’s because there’s such little conversation around platonic female friendship that is deep and real, even though it exists everywhere,” Erivo said. “We’re not used to seeing it on camera, in front of people.”

The actress continued, “A relationship where people are connected sometimes just makes people uncomfortable; we aren’t taught that those relationships are good for us.”

Erivo addressed working with Grande in an interview with EW’s The Awardist podcast in December. “I like quiet and solitude in order to focus in, and she would need contact or just a moment of connectivity before we could begin,” she said of her costar. “I think knowing that, having no prep time, meant that we could be influenced by the elements in the best possible way.”

Erivo is coming off perhaps the busiest year of her career so far. In 2025, she starred in Wicked: For Good; published her book Simply More: A Book for Anyone Who Has Been Told They’re Too Much; released her second solo album, I Forgive You; hosted the Tony Awards; performed as Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar at the Hollywood Bowl; and received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on Poker Face.

The actress currently stars as all 23 characters in a production of Dracula on the West End stage. Erivo explained her process for portraying so many alter egos simultaneously in her conversation with Stylist. “It takes you to a lot of different places mentally, because you have to find out who each of the characters are,” Erivo said. “Maybe one or two exist for a line or two, but every other character has a full arc of their own. So you need to find out physically who they are, mentally who they are, and vocally who they are.”

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She continued, “It ends up feeling like you’re creating a bit of an orchestra; everyone has their own melody and rhythm. I’m going back to the root of what I do – finding characters and figuring out how to bring them to life. It’s not easy, because there are a lot of them, but I’m enjoying it.”